Tesla Gigafactory 3 construction begins in Shanghai

Construction for the Tesla Gigafactory 3 began at the Shanghai Lingang Industry Area on Tuesday.

Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang met Elon Musk, CEO and founder of Tesla, and his delegation and Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong attended the factory project’s inaugural ceremony.

On behalf of the CPC Shanghai Committee and the Shanghai Municipal Government, Li congratulated Tesla on the launch of the factory. He said as China’s biggest economic center and the forefront of the country’s opening-up and reforms, Shanghai will keep opening its door wider to the outside world.

Automobile is the city’s pillar industry and the city has the environment for the industry to boom. Shanghai is accelerating the construction process of the intelligent connected vehicle innovation platform.

The city will support Tesla’s new factory and deepen cooperation with the company to build a world-class automobile industry cluster. Shanghai will keep creating the best environment, providing quality services, and supporting domestic and foreign companies to flourish in the city, Li added.

Ying said it only took Tesla half a year from signing the contract to the building of its Gigafactory 3, which is an indicator of the two parties’ close cooperation and the city’s optimized business environment.

The city hopes that the factory will be operational soon and it will keep supporting Tesla’s operation, Ying added.

Musk said Tesla is amazed at the efficient cooperation with Shanghai, its good business environment, and its openness and efforts. As an upgraded version of its old factories, the super factory in Lingang will integrate Tesla’s most advanced technologies and it will be developed into a global exemplar of innovation, efficiency, technology, and environmental protection.

Zhuge Yujie, secretary-general of the CPC Shanghai Committee; Wu Qing, vice mayor of Shanghai; and Ren Yuxiang and Zhu Xiaotong, global vice presidents of Tesla, also attended the ceremony.

Tesla signed the factory contract with Shanghai in July 2018. It will integrate functions such as research and development, manufacturing, and sales. When completed, the factory will be capable of producing 250,000 electric vehicles, including Tesla’s Model 3.

It is estimated that the factory’s annual production capacity will be increased to 500,000 units when it’s completed and becomes fully operational.